Early notice of Williamsport Haswell founder?
The Haswell family of Williamsport, Pa. descends from the storied A.M. Haswell, who first appears there in the 1860s as an upholsterer.He is said to have been born in Kent, England, yet nothing has been found prior to his appearance in Williamsport.While compiling various Haswells from the 1860 census, I appear to have come across an earlier reference to the Williamsport man, in an unexpected place.
The 1860 census of Stillwater, Minn. includes an A.M. Haswell, upholsterer, born in England and aged 22 years.This matches the prefered form of address (A.M., rather than Alfred), the age (b. ca. 1838), birthplace (England) and occupation of the Williamsport man.Considering that the name is not all that common, this level of coincidence makes a strong argument that this is 'our man'.
Were this all, it would only be a minor addition to what is already known, but this is not his only appearance in the census of that year.He apparently maintained a residence in Stillwater, while still spending time with his parents.In Minneapolis, we find an entry certainly refering to the same man.This household is headed by a W.J. Haswell, aged 53 (b. ca. 1807) who is an upholsterer, along with (apparent - relationships are not explicit in this census) wife Harriet, also aged 53, and son A.M., aged 22, also an upholsterer.Thus this record would appear to add another generation at the root of the Williamsport clan.